XtineFiles

This just in from depechemode.com

"We are getting preliminary reports that Robert Smith (lead singer of The Cure) is looking to stop further production of the album "Playing The Angel". It is said, through sources, that Robert has a concern that the "Mister Feathers" character that Anton Corbijn created for the "Playing The Angel" cover bears more than a passing resemblance to the cover for The Cure's "Boys Don't Cry" single."

I've been waiting years for a DM vs. The Cure smackdown. The time has finally come!

I hear bad pitches for movies and tv shows all day long, and boy what I'd give to hear a pitch as fantastical as the one that was shouted on this week's Soprano's. If only Hollywood was as easy as the Soprano's....or is it?

In case you missed it...said with a heavy NY accent:


"Saw meets Godfather...proven track record-both genres, young wiseguy gets betrayed by his people and then they whack him...leave his body parts in dumpsters all over the city--long story short he is put back together by science or maybe its supernatural and he gets fucking pay back on everyone who fucked him over, including the cunt he was engaged to."

Brilliance comes in many packages...what a scene!

For years I was convinced that Neil Diamond was following me. I'd see him in airports, shopping malls, McDonalds drive thru's. Everywhere I went Neil was sure to follow. Then suddenly one day out of the blue he just disappeared. He stopped lurking in my shadows, leaving me with a sense of loneliness and loss. That is until this week.

I'm proud to say Neil Diamond is back! At first I didn't believe it as I spotted him pulling out of the Starbucks parking lot on Northern Blvd in Bayside, NY. I brushed it off as a coincidence, a simple case of mistaken identity as I drove past him on the Long Island Expressway by Kissena Blvd. in Queens. But then, this morning I was certain Neil was standing at the ATM next to me at the CitiBank as I withdrew this week's spending money.

I know what you are thinking, "xtine has officially lost her mind" and that very well might be the case. But until I receive confirmation otherwise I shall stand here proud because Neil Diamond's got my back!

I got this from Dave2 and Kevin and it seemed like too much fun to pass up. Since Dave2 used Depeche Mode I will instead use Coldplay, answering each question in the form of a Coldplay song title.

1. Are you male or female?
"X & Y" (ok ok ok, just X, but I am trying to follow the game rules)

2. Describe yourself:
"Yellow"

3. How do some people feel about you:
"What If"

4. How do you feel about yourself:
"Dont Panic"

5. Describe your ex boyfriends:
For the most recent it is "Trouble".
For the one before that, "Warning Sign".
For the one before that, "A Rush of Blood the The Head".

6. Describe your current significant other (-ish):
"Clocks"

7. Describe where you want to be:
"Amsterdam"

8. Describe how you live:
"In My Place"

9. Describe how you love:
"See You Soon"

10. What would you ask for if you had just one wish:
"A Whisper"

11. Share a few words of wisdom:
"We Never Change"

12. Now say goodbye:
"Til Kingdom Come"

Sometimes you need to shed your inner Mariah and embrace that fact that creativity comes in all sorts of packages. Check out these three musketeers.

Henry Rollins
John Gulager
Judah Friedlander

Shaping a new Hollywood? Nah, but it at least we dont have to endure any baby adoption/divorse/pregnancy/"i'm so in love oprah" antics from these guys and sometimes that's just the refresher Hollywood desperately needs.

Ok, it just finally set in. Tony Soprano is going to die.

I'm not sure where this show is going, I'm not sure if I approve, but I must admit I am slightly intrigued. On the one hand I dont think I can stand an entire season of a weeping Carmella as Tony is stuck in the fantasy world of a Tony Loman-esque sales person. I also dont think I can stand an entire season of ancillary characters fighting for the top seat because, hey, I work in TV and that just reeks of spin off. But, what will in fact happen?

I'm quite shocked too, that in my world people seem to be in denial. Very little has been said at the water cooler. Perhaps people are too freaked out by the "he has an open wound" Tony and maybe it is all too much to handle on a Monday morning. Or perhaps people have just stopped caring about the Soprano's.

What do you think?

I'm lucky enough to work for company that believes in 'executive coaching' which is basically a nice way of saying "company enforced professional psychotherapy so that our senior managers dont end up beating our clients with tape dispensers." (sometime it doesn't always work).

Anyway my executive coach thought I should take this new personality test that was developed by some Swedish dude. And so, in keeping with one of my 'core values' I shall share this with all of you.

the results...

"In order for me to feel most meaning and meaningfulness in my life it’s important for me to”:

Receive comfort, solace, and consolation in times of fear or grief.
(Comfort)

Be treated in a fair, just, and equitable manner both socially and legally.
(Fair)

Be intuitive in my knowing, in touch with my deeper levels of consciousness.
(Intuitive)

Convey compassion, genuine concern, and wishes of well-being in all my relationships, even the most difficult.(Compassion)

Be spoken to and touched fondly with affection, tenderness and regard.
(Affection)

Communicate, convey, and exchange information, ideas or feelings.
(Communicate)

interesting, eh?

The boys are still at SXSW. Today they kept instant messaging me to say how exited they all were for the Morrissey concert...and now I am officially pissed I didn't go to SXSW.

The last time I saw Morrissey my hair was fire engine red and you know what? That was a long time ago. I wonder what he will sing and if he is still depressed and all. DRM said seeing Morrissey may make him feel old but I disagree. There is so much from my past musically and cosmically floating around me lately I think it actually could be a positive omen.

An omen that says "wave that freak flag high" and "be proud of the angst you so defiantly threw about in your youth" because sometimes a good dose of the past can put your present shit in perspective.

Right?

Popmuse and crew are down in Texas at the SXSW music and film conference. I was supposed to go but changed my mind at the last minute, opting for some home time.

I miss the gang- this is the first time they've gone to a festival without me but I've been getting pretty consistent updates throughout the fest.

Check out the popmuse SXSW post for an update from Austin, Tx.

I was driving around my town this weekend enjoying my first weekend at home in 2 weeks. I ended up doing the normal weekend stuff, like signing up for belly dancing classes at the "yoga center", using my starbucks gift certificate, and driving around to the gone but not forgotten Ray of Light cd. At one moment I was stopped at a traffic light on the main drag and what faced me on my left was a site that I was not prepared for. At first I thought it was a premonition, a vision, a spritely site in Queens, then I realized it was just a new TV show. "OLD CHRISTINE" printed in gigantic red letters on the side of NY city bus.

Oh Joy.

I'm 28 days away from my 32nd birthday. Do I feel old? Hells no. But a show called
"OLD CHRISTINE" (xtine=christine for those of you who may be a little dim) is just cruel. On behalf all Christine's in the world I'd like to just say publically; couldn't they have picked a more obscure name like Gertrude, Belinda, or Inga? And did they really need to put that much into the Ad campaign. I mean even the shows I produce dont market on city buses because of the expense.

And what is the Old Christine (correct title: The New Adventures of Old Christine) show anyway? It is kinda of a dumb name for a show dont you think? It sounds sort of like This Old House meets the Waltons. I also hear it stars Julia Louis-Dreyfus, which actually makes me feel even worse about the whole thing.

As you can tell by my mini-rage I wont be tuning in. I hope you dont either.

Xtinefiles needs your help...

I cant seem to figure out how to get the videos I shoot on my Cannon PowerShot SD400 camera to load up (import) onto my imovie on my mac.

I can't figure out what I am doing wrong. I dont even think my camera is reading in imovie.

I've trouble shooted and mac helped and now I am out of options. Does anyone know what I am doing wrong?

Help.

I got this off of a Greek Depeche Mode website (for those who know me please do try to avoid the irony). I dont know if all these dates are true or not, but nonetheless something to get prepared for...

Touring the Angel, North American leg:

April 27th Mountainview, CA Shoreline Amphitheater
April 29th Indi, CA Coachella Festival
April 30th Las Vegas, NV Theater Under the Stars
May 2nd El Paso, TX Don Haskins Center
May 5th Mexico City, MEX Estadio Foro Sol
May 7th Monterrey, MEX Arena Monterrey
May 10th Kansas City, MO Starlight Theater
May 11th Chicago, IL Allstate Arena
May 13th Wantaugh, NY Jones Beach Amphitheater (xtinefiles already has her tickets)
May 14th Holmdel, NJ PNC Bank Arts Center
May 17th Montreal, QU Bell Centre
May 18th Toronto, ON Air Canada Centre
May 20th Atlantic City, NJ Borgata Event Center
May 21st Washington, DC Nissan Pavilion

One of my new favorite show on TV is Related. I know its predictable, girly, over the top and frilly. But I love it! It is about four very different sisters living in NYC who spend way too much time with each other. You should check it out if you are into dramedy sap during the week.

And so my cred isn't totally blown by this admission, you should note that one of the shows co-stars is Dan Futterman who not only wrote the screenplay for Capote, but was nominated for an Oscar and won the Indie Spirit Award for screenplay this past Saturday (by the way I saw Dan driving away from the Spirits in a Honda).

Related also stars the fabulous Jennifer Esposito who also stars in the Oscar winning film Crash.

So there. With my cred fully intact, I whole heartedly endorse Related, Monday's at 9pm on the WB.

This article in this month's issue of Rolling Stone magazine kept me on the edge of my seat on my trip back to NYC from LA.

Do yourself a favor and run to the newstand and buy yourself a copy. Everything you wanted to know about Scientology but where afraid to ask is written about in systematic detail.

Crazy!

I'm currently in Los Angeles doing some work, hence the delay since my last post. But really it was worth the wait.

I don't normally get star struck, but yesterday was one of the days when you see someone and you blush as your mind says, "oh my goodness oh my goodness." Ozzy Osbourne, yes the Prince of Darkness himself made me giggle like a school girl. I did a shoot with him yesterday and it was truly amazing. I'm mean, Ozzy, he's a legend right?

During the two hours of watching him being interviewed and photographed I made some observations:

1. Despite what you've seen on TV, Ozzy is actually pretty articulate. Sure he is hard to understand and all but the things he says are really quite well thought out and all wisdom like.

2. He has really shiny hair

3. He has more bling on his wrist than P. Diddy

4. He arrived in a red Bently, driven by a driver (would you let Ozzy drive? thought not)

5. He is like a daddy. We had a photographer on set and when it came time to take staff photo's my self and my co worker walked up to him as he put his arms around us and said, "Come on girls" - awe.

6. When I was introduced to him he shook my hand while repeating my name, "hello xtine." (it is always nice when celebs say your name...sign of respect)

7. See number 6- I have Purelled a lot, but have not really washed that hand yet. (ewe)

8. Unlike most rock stars (and I have met many) Ozzy is truly greatful for his success and shows love for his fans more then any rocker I have ever met. "I should be dead," he said, and in that statement there is a genuine humility.

9. He is a really good story teller

10. He doesnt like it when people come up to him on the street and say, "Ozzy fucking Osbourne" he prefers, "Hey Ozzy!"

Ozzy was one of the coolest celeb experience I have ever had. He was amazingly nice, patient and way more normal that I ever could have expected.

I'm now an Ozzy fan, forever.